Priceline, which facilitates the online sale of airline tickets and hotel rentals, has purchased restaurant reservation platform OpenTable, marking its initial foray into the dining industry.

Priceline paid $103 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at $2.6 billion, according to a statement. That's a 46 percent premium over OpenTable’s closing price yesterday.

OpenTable, which books 15 million monthly diners across its stable of 31,000 restaurants, will “provide us with a natural extension into restaurant marketing services,” said Priceline’s CEO, Darren Huston.

The sale is expected to close in the third quarter, whereupon OpenTable will continue to be headquartered in San Francisco and operate as an independent business with its current management team intact.